Thread regarding Weight Watchers International Inc. layoffs

Have just read all of the above messages and for the most part they are all accurate. Spoke to my lawyer and he said that once they dropped the hammer, I could shout how I was treated from the rooftops! It had to have been the most unprofessional 4 minutes I have ever experienced in my entire life. After 20 years of service, as a mentor, guide, Location Coordinator, and general all around flunky, I was rewarded with a knife in the back. All the new, young hires were kept, of course, but those of us who had a great deal of experience (not being paid any more) were kicked to the sidelines. No explanation as to where we were or what happened to us. Any inquiry by the members was treated with silence and ignored by the remaining staff. Tried to contact our TM, but she never returned my phone call. No respect, no loyality, no compassion–just return everything and don't let the door hit you in the back on your way out. Keep your lifetime membership–I can do without it!

Nobody has mentioned how we worked for peanuts yet had to be brilliant in our learning capabilities.
Coaches made more than guides, received more commission on products than guides, received much more money for any members over 15 that attended Work Shop meetings. Yet we all loved our job, our colleagues and members. I never said "no" to any duties requested of me. We had to be techies and "repair" our own MEGS when they were down. Every day (until recently) we were slammed with emails and homework beyond belief. Sad to say Weight Watchers that I knew and loved from the past is GONE!!! Jean is probably rolling over in her grave!! (guide for nearly 7 years)

Want something for your story. WW paid evey employee working even those sitting in a virtual workshop simply smiling and clapping for memebrs. (Aka getting a workshop for free as a guide) since March.

Look it’s s—s to get laid off fired terminated but I also know Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and every retailer is going bankrupt. Covid19 s—s and a company has to make sh–ty bold
Moves to stay afloat.

I know tms are gone and corporate is giving up salary. We applauded that when they told us but for some reason now we forget.

Get your facts straight. Covid19 got evey company across the country. wW has paid us all for months and not furloughed is. We had to know this was
Coming as they can’t keep us all
Employed. Not a single one of us ever keep anything confidential so if our tm started to make calls it would be a mass texting ans we would have been upset there too. terminations and layoffs are never fun.
Oh and I work for a law firm so they are always scripted too.
Life s—s
Covid s—s
And the economy s—s

What everyone is saying is mostly true. The only thing I disagree with is that they only kept new hires. I know for a fact that some new hires were let go. My coworkers and I can not find and rhyme or reason for the people that were layed off. Some territories lost all their guides and some just lost their manager. Some lost many other like mine lost only a few. I personally have been describing the experience as being blindfolded and gagged. I feel like WW corporate has become an evil cult. I am just waiting for the next round of layoffs.

I've been a guide for 11 years, a location coordinator and a chat coach since day 1. I have a very simialr story as the others. No reason given other than it came from senior management. It was cold and heartless and demoralizing since many less effective guides were kept as well as recent hires. I received messages from my co-workers stating that I was the best guide that they had ever worked with. I've been working 6 days a week for this company! Disgusting! I would love to be a part of your story!

I have been a Weight Watchers member since 2001 and an employee since 2012, most recently the past four years as a chat coach. This was despicable. No two way communication, no empathy, not even "We're sorry we had to do this". And big deal, Mindy, you were willing to give up your salary for the rest of the year to show your cost savings involvement? Boohoo, you already make $4 million a year so I'm sure you can deal with no salary through the end of this year.

I have always been annoyed that in the four years of being a chat coach, and the five years prior, we NEVER got a raise. Not one penny.

I am disgusted about how the layoff was done. I sent an email to my TM right afterwards to clarify that I wasn't to work any more chat shifts, and to express that I enjoyed working with her the last 8 years. Her response: 'Yes'. But she also got laid off after 40+ years with WW, so I'm sure she's miserable too. By the way, I'm 61 and disabled (profoundly hearing impaired) so I am sure my age and disability had a lot to do with this, even though I was receiving high metrics and excellent feedback from members coming off chats. I am willing to be part of this article.

Like everyone else, i was let go this past Thursday at 4:00 pm. We were told not to talk to anyone within the company. Many of my best friends worked for the company,, I had worked for the company for 14 years and 3 months. I remember I was told I was a seasoned Guide and valuable to the team. Now I hear, they only kept new recruits. I loved my job, my co-worker and the members that I helped with their weight loss journey. Luckily, I am friends with many on Facebook. We will still be able to connect. I have to admit it is one of the saddest moments in my life. WW is consider to have a wellness plan unique to every ones weight loss needs. It is horrendous how they handled their valued workers and dismissed so coldly.

I have worked as a receptionist now Guide a Weight Watchers 13 years. Thursday I was on the call telling me it was my last day. I was layed off 20 years ago from a hospital and at least the Supervisior and HR people sat across the table and looked us in the eye when they told us. I was scheduled for 3 meetings a week. I went beyond by filling almost every time I was asked for vacations, illness, snow, sometimes on an hours notice. I loved this my coworkers and members. When I started the company was all about the "service Vision" now I wonder if corporate even knows what that is. I am so angry. I was very good at my job and to get let go on a conference call was so wrong. All they care about is MONEY not wellness.

A gag order !? You need to get your facts straight if you are going to do an article.

What a sick way to let go of loyal employees. Horrible, never will use them or buy from them again.

Absolutely how it happened.. I'm one of the chosen who wasn't fired... but I'm sick about what happened to my best friends who were fired..It was a horrible way that WW handled it.. especially for a company that's supposed to be about wellness and caring...

From all the comments in several threads it looks like WW fired all employees who had several years with the company and kept "new hires" only

The stories above are exactly how it happened. Very cold.......like dieing of Covid and no one there to hold your hand.

I have worked for weight watchers for 40 years. I was expecting a nice gift for 40 years instead got fired in a 5 minute conference call. WW never treated their employees very well but expected professionalism and empathy from us. I enjoyed the job and made many good friends among the other employees and members. Big deal is made about Oprah but she never did much for all her millions.

My experience was pretty much the same as described above. I knew my job was possibly in jeopardy when I received a directive the week before telling me to send back or donate all saleable products from both the studio ( I am a coach and location coordinator) and my home. Despite being given very little time to accomplish this (I work full-time aside from WW), I did everything asked in the allotted time frame. Before the call, my feelings about WW corporate were that they were completely out of touch with the field staff and amazingly careless about everything they put out in the way of instructions, but I must say I was shocked at the way they handled this. We weren't laid off. We were fired. I've never been fired before, and though this happened despite a good performance and a lot of effort - it wasn't my fault - the it came down felt worse than if I had deserved it.
These sessions should, at the very least, have been one-on-one conversations. They could read their little spiel but then an opportunity should have occurred to talk with the person they were discarding. I really don't care whether this would be harder for the Territory Managers or not as cost-effective. This process spoke VOLUMES about WW corporate, which is too bad, because the field staff (who are in direct contact with members) is full of dedicated people who work there because they feel they have something to offer, despite the pay.
I really hope that this goes viral. This is a terrible way to treat employees and WW should be held accountable, if only in the court of public opinion.

It started on Wed. with a urgent directive to attend a teleconferencing call on Thurs. There were 2 calls, one at 3:30 pm one at 4:00 pm Eastern time. I was texting with 2 different teams I work with, and we were trying to figure out why the different times. My call at 4:00 seemed it would be much smaller, no one else had it. I've been with the company for over 25 years. I have made many friends at WW, both current and former employees (who always left of their own accord, retired, etc.)

When 3:20 or so rolled around I heard from some friends who could not get into the call. Mailbox full. They tried all through their call and never got in. One friend of mine said she got in and it was the weirdest call she ever heard and made no sense. Something like, Ÿou have a job. Dont discuss this with anyone!! Something the TM read, like a prepared statement, and abruptly hung up. BTW even though this was a zoom call, cameras were disabled and speakers were muted and phones were used to call in, so no names, no faces, and no one could talk. At around 3:45 I started to try to get into my call, and had the same problem, call is full or something. I gave up by 4:15 and figured I would hear soon enough. I was starting to suspect that the two calls were the ones being kept first and the ones being let go in the later call. I expressed this in one of my group text messages. About 4:40 I got a text message from a coworker, very kind actually, asking if I was upset by the call and wanted to talk, she was there for me. I told her I couldn't get into my call. About 2 min later my TM called me and I refused to answer. She left a very brusque, businesslike message to call her back. I did not. I went to my work site and was locked out. I went to our Workplace site and was locked out. I knew. Since I was not on the call I did not receive the instruction to be quiet and not talk to co-workers about being fired. Not talk to co-workers?? They are my friends! I texted my friends! And posted on Facebook! Im glad I did not receive that instruction. What are they going to do, fire me??

As I said, over 25 years, and I do believe I was thought of as a good and capable worker. I felt kind of gutted yesterday. In shock. Going through the stages. Iḿ angry right now.

Iĺl tell you, no one works for WW for the money. We do it because we love to help people and see their transformation with the program. And we love working with each other. I always had great work friends who became real friends.

From what I've heard of the firing call, the TM read a written statement that their employment was terminated. Cameras were disabled, microphones were disabled. In my case, if Id been on that call, after 25 years plus, it was a 4 minute call where the TM couldn't see my face or hear me speak in a sea of only phone numbers showing, and a written statement lasting 4 minutes would have been read and then she disconnected. Bam. And oh, dont tell you co-workers. Your friends of years in many cases. They can not tell us with who and who not to share our grief! Isn't that against the law???

Extremely cruel.

@hop+14Y5fn5G and @svv+14Y5fn5G, thanks for sharing. If you would be willing to speak more in-depth about your experience with Weight Watchers over the years, how this affects your relationship with the company, or how this affects your own wellness journey, let me know at segreports@gmail.com.

If anyone else is seeing this thread, and doesn't want to share in a public forum, feel free to email me as well.

very similar story. no information on why/what the point of letting us all go was. told not to talk to discuss it with others. told not to connect to say goodbye to our members or colleagues. whom we've helped personally develop and have been personal guides to through this pandemic and beyond. the only people willing to do this so heartlessly are corporate leaders who have no idea what the vibe of a studio is. to let people go without saying goodbye in this climate in the middle of the week, insulting. ALSO ITS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH... A major tier of wellness is mental health... in fact, as WW has shown us, it's the biggest one of all.

An email linking to a meeting via Zoom. A minutes long Zoom meeting with ~60 coaches and guides in attendance, where the Territory Manager (your regional "boss") reads a script to everybody saying "as of end of day today you are terminated with WW International. If you are scheduled for any workshops (meetings) do not attend them." Instructions NOT to discuss this with any of your (former) colleagues. Meeting ended.

Follow up email with brief directions to send back any company property you may have in possession.

Cue your ex-colleagues connecting to your scheduled workshops, and wondering where the heck you are. Texting confusion ensues. "I was fired" "WHAT? You were fired???"

No explanation. No apparent rhyme or reason. In our case, husband and wife are both Coaches, similar seniority, wife fired, husband not fired. Instructed not to discuss it with each other.